The new Canadiens goaltender is a Cornell University graduate and has been nicknamed “The Professor.”

So it’s not surprising that he was smart enough to learn a few words of French before meeting the Montreal media for the first time following practice Monday in Brossard and getting his second start with the Canadiens Tuesday night in Philadelphia against the Flyers.

“Je suis content de jouer demain à Philly,” Scrivens said, later adding in English that he has a Duolingo app on his phone, but has only learned to speak some French in the present tense.

“He’s definitely a lot smarter than me,” said captain Max Pacioretty, who spent one season at the University of Michigan before deciding to turn pro. “It’s nice to have two goalies with an IQ higher than probably the rest of our team combined.”

While the Canadiens might not have the best goaltending duo in the NHL with the injured Carey Price on the sidelines, they probably have the smartest. Mike Condon is a graduate of Princeton University which, like Cornell, is one of eight prestigious Ivy League schools in the United States.

“We can’t be that smart,” Scrivens, who graduated with a degree in hotel management, said after practice Monday. “We stand in front of pucks all day, right?

“I’m probably more opinionated than I am intelligent,” the goalie added with a laugh, “which isn’t always the greatest combination to have. I like to stay up to date on stuff outside of sports. I don’t play fantasy football or baseball or any of that stuff.”

The 29-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta., said he enjoys following U.S. politics, but don’t get him started on the Kardashian family.

“I despise them, but you have to respect that they are marketing geniuses,” the goaltender said about the social-media kings and queens. “Doesn’t mean I like them and doesn’t mean I respect anything they do other than they’re good at what they do.”

Scrivens has proven in the past he can be pretty good at what he does — which is stopping pucks. That’s why Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin took a chance and acquired the veteran from the Edmonton Oilers after Christmas in exchange for Zack Kassian.

It was a deal that made sense. Kassian wasn’t going to get another shot with Bergevin after he entered Stage 2 of the NHL’s Substance Abuse and Behavioural Health Program before ever playing a game with the Canadiens. And it was becoming obvious that Dustin Tokarski wasn’t a long-term answer as a second goalie behind Condon while Price continues to recover from his injury.

Scrivens was named a first team all-American during his final season at Cornell, earned the ECAC Goaltender of the Year award and was one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in U.S. college hockey. But he has had his ups and downs in the NHL with Toronto, Los Angeles and Edmonton before coming to the Canadiens.

Last season in Edmonton was a disaster as Scrivens posted a 15-26-11 record with a 3.16 GAA and .890 save percentage. Before being acquired by the Canadiens, he had been banished to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, where he had a 2-6-1 record with a 3.47 GAA and .893 save percentage.

Scrivens stopped 27 of 31 shots Tuesday night in Philadelphia — including several big saves — but the Canadiens lost 4-3 and the goalie dropped to 0-2 since joining the Habs. In his first start, Scrivens stopped 27 of 30 shots in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. His career record is now 42-58-17 with a 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage.

Scrivens said he was “definitely not throwing anybody under the bus in Edmonton,” but added there were a lot of breakdowns in the defensive system last season as the Oilers ranked last in the NHL in defence, allowing an average of 3.37 goals per game.

“I don’t think it’s a cop-out answer to say that playing behind a really strong defensive team is going to help a goalie,” Scrivens said. “I think everybody who watches hockey can understand that that’s probably true.”

Heading into Tuesday’s game, the Canadiens ranked 12th in the NHL in defence, allowing an average of 2.45 goals per game, while the Oilers were 27th at 2.98.

Scrivens said he has been accepted well in the Canadiens’ locker room, although he did wonder what the reaction would be from one of his new teammates.

“I wasn’t sure how (Brendan) Gallagher was going to take to me,” the goalie said. “We’ve had our battles in the minors and stuff. But we’re stall mates here (in the locker room), so if he’s welcoming then I think everybody else is as well.”

The YouTube video shows Gallagher (surprise, surprise) with the Hamilton Bulldogs crashing into Scrivens and driving him into the Toronto Marlies net. The goalie then pins Gallagher to the ice and starts pounding on him before a Marlies defenceman drags Gallagher out of the net by his skates.

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